Monday, March 31, 2008

This is a significant sentence for a false rape accuser -- not nearly as much as the innocent man would have received if her lie had its intended effect, but a start. The only drawback is that the judge felt a need to invoke the politically correct mantra that the "most serious" aspect of her her lie was the harm it does to phantom, unknown rape victims whose tales will be doubted because of fabrications such as this one. In any event, perhaps this will send a signal to false rape accusers that they place themselves at real risk when they cry rape.

A woman who falsely accused a soldier of rape has been described as "wicked" by the judge who sentenced her to a year in jail.

Amanda Lang, 21, had consensual sex with Lance Corporal Philip Trowell after drinking with him at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. The act took place in Lang's bedroom which she shared with her pilot boyfriend.

The court heard that after sex Lang started to cry, saying she felt guilty. Once L/Cpl Trowell had left, she complained to neighbours that she had been raped. Lang sobbed as Judge Julian Hall, at Oxford Crown Court, sentenced her to one year in prison and told her: "What you did was wicked. "I think most men would feel, if they were accused of rape, that they would tear their hair out.

"For a few days this man's life was turned upside down. You persisted with your story for 15 months so all the time he thought he was going to have to give evidence to prove you were lying.

"You caused an enormous amount of work and waste of time. The most serious aspect is that you have done womankind no good at all.

"Every time a woman makes a false allegation of rape you let down the women that make true allegations and cause suspicion that another person is making it up.

"That is the evil of what you did - it undermines the whole process. This is a case where a message has to be sent out to everybody that false allegations of rape are insidious to a degree."

Amjad Malik, prosecuting, said that L/Cpl Trowell's detailed description of Lang's bedroom had been key to disproving her claim that he had dragged her in to some bushes after leaving the bar.

Mr Malik said: "What he gave was an accurate description of the room and contents and was even able to describe the staining on the bed.

"It was an account he could only have given if he had spent some time in that room."

The court heard that Lang had stuck to her story for some months, claiming that she was terrified of L/Cpl Trowell and that he was a dangerous man who might strike again.

However, his detailed account enabled officers to uncover inconsistencies in Lang's account. A lack of grass-stains and mud on Lang's person also undermined her story, as did forensic samples on her bed.

In a victim impact statement read out by Mr Malik L/Cpl Trowell told of the "daunting" experience, the frustration of having to prove his innocence and the "stigma" he suffered among his colleagues in the Armed Forces of having had a rape allegation made against him.

James Reilly, defending Lang, said she was immature and had a troubled past and had suffered depression. He said the rape allegation came as a result of a "snowball effect" and the defendant realised she was wrong.

As the following story illustrates, false rape claims primarily hurt the men accused, of course, but they also hurt the women who love them. (Also hurt, but in a far less direct way, are the women who have yet to come forward with legitimate rape claims because the liars add to the public's skepticism about rape claims.)

It is difficult to understand why some radical feminists and rape counselors insist that women don't lie about rape because assertions that dismiss the damage to male victims also dismiss the damage to the women who love them. In short, women don't benefit by pretending other women don't lie about rape.

Sugababe Amelle Berrabah has spoken out about false allegations that her boyfriend Freddie Fuller raped her younger sister Samiya.

The popstar revealed that last year's events made her feel like she was having a "nervous breakdown" and that it almost destroyed her relationship with Fuller.

Fuller was accused of rape by Samiya in January 2007. However, police later revealed that he had been five miles away at his parents' home at the time of the incident.

Further contradictions in Samiya's statement meant that no charges were brought against Fuller, who was cleared in October.

Afterwards Berrabah's sister confessed that the event may have been just a "bad dream".

Berrabah told The Sun: "I feel like I have had a nervous breakdown. I just shut off like a switch, my whole body.

"Sometimes I’d have panic attacks. I physically and mentally couldn’t handle it. I just wanted to go into a room and never leave.

"We have been living like hermits for months. It doesn’t seem real. The whole thing has been a huge mental strain, there’s so much to take in.

"Talking about her sister's confession, she commented: "To turn around and say, 'I must have been dreaming', I need more than that. She was like my best mate, we’d do everything together. I feel I’ve lost a piece of me."

The singer added: "It is horrible hearing what people have to say. Hearing your boyfriend being called a rapist is awful. It makes me feel sick, people whispering about us. It has really messed up both of us in the head.

"It did put a strain on our relationship for ages. We’ve only just started getting back to normal. We are starting again and living our lives properly at last."

Friday, March 28, 2008

Editor's note: Here's another case where a lying rape accuser doesn't spend one minute in jail, even though an innocent man was jailed based solely on her lie. Fourteen patrol cars were sent to arrest this monster of a man. Fourteen. Like in a Hollywood thriller. Again, by no fair and objective measure does this punishment fit the crime.A woman was convicted in Södertörn District Court on Thursday for a falsely accusing a man of raping her.

The woman was sentenced to probation and psychiatric care. She must also pay 52,000 kronor ($8700) in damages to the man she accused of raping and threatening her.

The incident occurred in July of 2006 in Haninge, south of Stockholm.

The woman called police and claimed that a man had locked her in an apartment, threatened her with a gun, and raped her several times.

Police sent 14 patrol cars and a few hours later arrested a man who willingly opened the door.

The 37-year-old woman was taken to hospital, but a medical examination revealed no signs that she’d been raped.

A closer investigation later revealed that the man had asked her to leave, that she wasn’t locked in as she had previously claimed, and that no sexual crime had been committed.

The whole incident had been fabricated and a year later the woman was indicted.

It’s extremely unusual for women to be convicted of bearing false witness in cases of rape. But in this case the evidence was so strong that the prosecutor decided to proceed with an indictment.

The woman has been previously convicted for smaller crimes and suffers from psychological problems with self-destructive tendencies.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

What comes to mind when you think of consent? Some words that come to mind are agreement, mutual and coerced.

Yes, I said coerced. Because many times when a person does not agree to consensual sex they may be coerced or pressured into agreeing to it. Sometimes we are faced with the question, “If you loved me, you would” or “I thought you loved me”. That is NOT consent! Consensual sex is when you both agree, not when one person forces the other.

Recently, I was on a college campus and women were discussing the “walk of shame”. This was described as when a woman is drunk and she has nonconsensual sex. All of these women were unaware that in the state of California, you are not legally able to consent if you are drunk. This was a wake up call for them! They asked me questions and did not realize that was the law. Prior to this they thought the “walk of shame” was just something that, as they said, “happens all the time”.

Dialogue alone can create change and when that dialogue begins online it can be the first step in making change in your community. What does consent mean to you? How can you create change?

Guest Blog by Lisa Covington

(Emphasis added)

Note from Editor of this Web site: This is a gross misstatement of the law. Is it any wonder radical feminists are able to maintain with a straight face that rape is rampant on college campuses given that they are applying a nonsensical over-broad definition of the crime? One can just imagine when the feminist writer was discussing the "walk of shame" with young college women -- their bright eyes must have widened at the epiphany that women are being "raped" with abandon, probably even they, themselves, have been "raped" under this twisted -- and incorrect -- definition. And it probably dawned on them for the first time how privileged, how selfish, how downright awful are the young males they go to school with, and by extension all males. Including their own fathers and brothers.

The only problem is, that's not what the law says. Under California statutory law, a person is guilty of rape, among other things, "Where a person is prevented from resisting by any intoxicating or anesthetic substance, or any controlled substance, and this condition was known, or reasonably should have been known by the accused."

Under this statute, according to a California state court that interpreted it, in order for a rape to occur the victim must be so intoxicated that he or she is incapable of exercising the judgment required to decide whether to consent to those sexual acts. An honest and reasonable but mistaken belief that a sexual partner is not too intoxicated to give legal consent to sexual intercourse IS a defense to rape by intoxication. PEOPLE V. GIARDINO, 82 Cal. App. 4th 454; 98 Cal. Rptr. 2d 315 (2000).THAT is pretty damn drunk. A recent Massachusetts appellate court explained: "In determining whether a person is 'incapable of consenting' to sexual intercourse as a result of intoxication, the inquiry focuses on whether that person is "wholly insensible . . . in a state of utter stupefaction . . . caused by drunkenness . . . or drugs."Telling women that they have been raped if they have sex while they are merely intoxicated, without any further explanation, is incorrect and absolves them of all responsibility for their actions. It creates a presumption of victimhood that the law does not accept. It is also gender divisive because it unfairly disparages countless college men by branding them as rapists when they are not. But sadly, I suspect that was the whole point. Every revolution needs a devil, and radical feminism has "the male."

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

A woman who told police she was raped in central Hamilton late last month has admitted making it up.

Hamilton teenager Caitlyn Ann Moore, 17, pleaded guilty to making a false statement when she appeared in the Hamilton District Court yesterday.

Moore rang police about 5.20am on February 29, to say she had been raped earlier that morning.

Police began investigating, and cordoned off an area of London St for several hours.

Moore said she had been drinking beer, vodka and lemonade on the night she was supposedly raped, and had gone into the city with two men.

The men went into a nightclub, but after Moore was denied entry, she decided to walk to her sister's house.

Moore told police she was grabbed from behind at the intersection of Victoria and London Sts, dragged into a grass reserve area, thrown to the ground, and raped. The "offender" then ran off.

But when police questioned Moore further, she said the incident was "all in her head" and admitted that none of it happened.

Moore said she got delusional sometimes, and had become emotional for no reason on the night.

Moore's lawyer Wayne Dollimore asked for her to be discharged without conviction, emphasising her age and lack of previous convictions.

"It's still going to be a conviction that will be with her for life," he said.

Mr Dollimore said Moore had not been able to give him an explanation for her offending, and noted that the $1800 reparations asked for by police was a lot of money for her to pay.

"It's a large amount for a young lady."

Police prosecutor Baden Hilton said police opposed a discharge without conviction, as it was important that Moore was held accountable for her actions, and that others were deterred from doing anything similar.

"Doing so (discharging) would be out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence.

"We need to protect those who have genuine complaints and we also need to discourage this kind of behaviour in the community," he said.

Community Magistrate Rae Brooker agreed with Mr Hilton, and convicted Moore, ordering her to pay $1800 reparations at no less than $20 a week.

"You are old enough to know that that behaviour was very inappropriate you used police resources that were not required," Ms Brooker said.

Moore, whose mother was in court to support her yesterday, was receiving counselling.Earlier this month Hamilton CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Page described false rape complaints as a huge waste of police time, which took valuable resources away from legitimate cases.

Monday, March 24, 2008

"Justice, or the lack thereof, should not be gender-specific"Cruel inventions

Once stolen, a man's virtue cannot be restored

Editor, The Times:

Katherine M. Clifton pleaded guilty to making a false rape accusation against a college professor ["Woman pleads guilty to false rape report," Times, Local News, March 19]. Clifton was sentenced to 365 days with 357 suspended, to pay a $5,000 fine, with $4,750 suspended, and pay the victim's attorney fees.

The professor whom Clifton falsely accused had been charged with first-degree rape and burglary. Prosecutors in his case asked for $500,000 bail, noting the professor was "an extreme threat to the victim and the community."

The professor served nine days in jail and was suspended from his job, even though there was no evidence to support Clifton's accusations.

Like the Duke University lacrosse team members' case and many others, the victim faced years of imprisonment, while the perpetrator faced little more than a minor rebuke. In no other scenario are perpetrators more lightly sanctioned when their victims suffer life-altering abuse.

Instead, malicious and premeditated false accusers should suffer the maximum sentence their victim could have received if convicted. Most such accusations will then stop.

Editor of this Web site: Bravo, Mr. Crouch. Your point is dead on: "[t]he notion that punishing false accusers will stifle legitimate victim complaints is ideologically driven, hyperbolic conjecture." It is perplexing, and hurtful, that some who want to raise awareness about rape feel a need to denigrate falsely accused men by minimizing their victimization. This case is an example of that. We owe it to those men and, yes, to true rape victims whose claims might be doubted because of these lies, to punish far more severely women who cry "rape" when no rape was committed.

It clearly it is not an urban myth that some women lie about rape. In Until Proven Innocent, the widely praised (praised even by the New York Times, which the book skewers) and painstaking study of the Duke Lacrosse non-rape case, Stuart Taylor and Prof. K.C. Johnson explain that "[t]he standard assertion by feminists that only 2 percent of rape claims are false, which traces to Susan Brownmiller's 1975 book Against Our Will, is without empirical foundation and belied by a wealth of empirical data. These data suggest that at least 9 percent and probably closer to half of all rape claims are false."

In modern times, enlightened people regard rape as among the foulest of deeds. Only murderers receive an average criminal sentence greater than rapists. One can acknowledge that rape is an awful thing and, without contradiction, assert that false accusations of rape are not "an urban myth." The two are not mutually exclusive. The fact is, false accusations hurt both innocent men and, to a lesser degree, true rape victims because they cause persons of good will to doubt legitimate rape claims. It is perplexing, and hurtful, that some who want to raise awareness about rape feel a need to denigrate falsely accused men by dismissing their victimization as an "urban myth." We owe it to those men and, yes, to true rape victims whose claims might be doubted because of these lies, to educate women about the harm they do when they cry "rape" when no rape was committed.

The only "urban myth," Professor, is that women rarely lie about rape.

A shocking story of the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl is untrue, police say.

The girl initially told police she was picked up by eight men in the McCowan and Ellesmere Rds. area on Tuesday night. She said she was put into a van, sexually assaulted by each of the men and dropped off just after 10 p.m., possibly near Kipling Ave. and Highway 401.

The girl was taken to Sick Kids hospital immediately after she reported the assault, where she was examined and interviewed by police.

Yesterday, police revealed that the teen's story was untrue. They are not revealing how they discovered that she made up the ordeal, but they say they don't expect to lay charges.

According to clinical psychologist Dr. Gregory Hamovitch, incidents like this are unusual.

"It's quite rare. If anything, under-reporting of these kind of events is more likely than overreporting," he said.

Hamovitch said the girl might have created the story for attention or to cover up for an unexplained absence.

"Any of these things are possible," said Hamovitch.

In 1994, a 14-year-old girl falsely told police that she was sexually assaulted by a group of men. In that incident, the teen said she was picked up by four men driving a black car in the southeast end of the city.

Police later found out that the girl's story was false. The teen was charged with public mischief.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

The Elyria Police Department informed Campus Security of their intentions to close the investigation of the alleged rape and kidnapping of an LCCC student.

An e-mail from Campus Security said the EPD believes the incident did not occur and they haven't decided whether or not to pursue charges against the 39-year-old student.

A campus alert came after a female student reported she was allegedly forced into a van at gun point and raped by three black males on Monday, Feb. 18 at 4:15 p.m.

The report filed at Campus Security said after the female was kidnapped and raped, she was abandoned naked near her vehicle. Then the black males threw her clothes at her and drove off.

The EPD report of the incident read that the victim refused medical treatment and a rape kit, a standard set of tests to collect evidence. The report also revealed the victim had ice cream and cold beverages in her car, and when detectives inquired when she went to the store, she couldn't remember if it was before or after the incident. No receipt was found.

"After reviewing several hours of video surveillance, nothing was found," said Keith Brown,

Interim Director of Security. EPD officers said no physical evidence was visible, and there was no information to assist in identifying suspects, or solving this case.

Campus Security still wants to encourage all campus community members to be vigilant and aware, and to report any suspicious activity immediately.

A woman is behind bars tonight after making a false police report. She told police she was attacked and almost raped.

25-year-old Cristina Martinez is being held at the Brownsville Police Department after making what police believe is a false report to hide an extra-marital affair.

Martinez’s husband got a call from his wife Tuesday afternoon. She cried to him she had been sexually assaulted. Her husband immediately called 9-1-1.

“You had police, fire, ambulance and it caused a reaction from law enforcement from public service.”

Martinez alleged she was attacked. She told police a man grabbed her from behind as she attempted to open the door. That’s when he forced her inside her home and attempted to rape her. She said she fought the man and stabbed him in the leg with a kitchen knife. Police investigators, along with several patrol officers spent hours looking for the alleged suspect.

“As our investigation progressed and our questioning progressed then she had to start making up things as we went along.”

Sergeant, Jimmy Manrique, says Martinez confessed she lied about the attack to cover-up an extra-marital affair she was having. Martinez was arrested this morning and charged with making a false report to a police officer, a class B misdemeanor.

“We treated this as a real incident as she reported it and the nature of it, the very nature of being attacked at home is something we take very seriously.”

Manrique says it's the department's duty to treat these types of calls as a major concern, especially for the people who live around the neighborhood.

It might not happen often, but they add up. From January 2007 to now, there have been 31 false reports.

Every time someone makes a false report, it takes officers away from helping people who actually have an emergency.

“It takes away from other officers responding to other calls and this is why we have to hold someone like her accountable for her actions. if we let people get away with doing this were going to have a society here where people are lying to cover their own mistakes up and utilizing the police and resources to do that and that's not going to be tolerated.”

Martinez will be arraigned tomorrow morning. If she's convicted she can face a 180-day sentence or a $2,000 fine.

"Upon further investigation by Bridgeport Police Detective Angel Llanos it was determined that the complainant fabricated the incident," Messina said.

The accuser, Deborah Bell, 37, "has since retracted her complaint," the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said the woman has not yet been arrested and the investigation is continuing.Ramos had been free after posting $50,000 bond.

The 37-year-old woman complained that on Feb. 8 Ramos had raped her.

The woman claimed Ramos had come to her door early in the morning and began banging on it until she let him in, police said. After they had watched television for a while, the woman claimed Ramos grabbed her, and forced her into her bedroom where he sexually assaulted her, according to her initial complaint.

A 22-year-old former Woodinville woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to making a false rape accusation against a local college professor last June.

King County District Court Judge Peter Nault called the case one of the "saddest" he'd ever seen in court and one that is likely to have long-term impact on future investigations.

"That we hurry to castigate a person who turns out to be entirely innocent ... I don't know how it could be worse," said Nault, saying the incident will make it harder for real sexual victims to bring their cases forward.

Nault accepted a guilty plea from Katherine M. Clifton, accused of making false statements to a public servant.

Those statements led to the rape charge last summer against the professor who subsequently spent nine days in jail and was placed on leave from his job.

Clifton declined to comment at the hearing but filed a detailed statement saying that she had been sexually abused by her grandfather, who was convicted of rape of a child in 1994.

"In order to understand why, I have to explain what has happened to me in my past that has forever affected me," she wrote.

Clifton, who now lives in Ellensburg, was sentenced to serve 365 days in jail, with 357 days suspended, and to pay a $5,000 fine, with $4,750 suspended, plus other conditions that include probation and community service. Nault also ordered her to pay the professor's attorney fees.

The professor declined to discuss the charges, saying he wants to put the past behind him, and asked not to be identified.

The King County Prosecutor's Office concedes a mistake was made in the original prosecution but said it was acting on the best information available at the time.

"In hindsight, what was presented to us was an allegation of a violent rape," said Ian Goodhew, deputy chief of staff. "That doesn't mean the investigation stopped."

Clifton was "an extremely articulate and credible victim," said Sgt. John Urquhart, Sheriff's Office spokesman. "There was no reason to suspect she wasn't telling the truth."

RIVIERA BEACH — Her story of being abducted from a dark school bus stop by three masked men and sexually assaulted for hours in their candy-apple-red car seemed credible.

She was a good student from a good family, police said.

And apparently a good storyteller.

Instead of being abducted, the Palm Beach Gardens High School sophomore spent the morning with a male friend Tuesday. In a text message to an acquaintance, the 16-year-old said she was going to have sex and eat breakfast with the friend, making her late for school, police said.

That text message was the teenager's undoing. Confronted by police Monday, she broke down and finally told the truth.

"She acknowledged she made up the entire story," Police Chief Clarence Williams said.

The girl fabricated the story because she feared getting into trouble, Sgt. Pat Galligan said.

After the confession, police charged the teen girl with two misdemeanors: making false statements to police and making false statements during a police investigation.

"We talked to teachers," Galligan said. "Everyone had good things to say about her. Her mother is beside herself. It's sad."

As word of the alleged abduction hit the street, Galligan began receiving anonymous calls from teens challenging the girl's story. The big break came when a tipster told police about the text message, he said.

Police took the girl to the Juvenile Assessment Center, where she was to be processed and housed until being released to her parents.

School officials were dismayed to learn that the student made up her claims.

"Unfortunately, we had to go through this because of a charade, but it did give us a chance to go through this academically rather than in reality," Palm Beach County Schools Superintendent Art Johnson said. "In this particular case it didn't happen, but that doesn't mean we don't need to prepare like it did happen."

The girl could face disciplinary action, Johnson said.

Last month, an Atlantic High School freshman was charged with filing a false police report after telling police that he saw men with guns on campus, sparking a school lockdown and alarming parents and students. The student has been recommended for expulsion.

Police waited about 18 hours before going public with the teen's abduction story. At the time, police spokeswoman Rose Anne Brown said, they needed time to make sure the girl's account was "credible."

School officials were not notified of the alleged attack until more than 24 hours later, and then only when Palm Beach Gardens Principal Jonathan Prince called police to inquire about it.

The hoax prompted unwarranted criticism of Riviera Beach police, Williams said. He has received e-mails alleging a lack of concern for the city's children as well as calls from parents who feared dropping off their kids at bus stops.

"Our detectives have been working this case since its inception," Williams said. "We have devoted a substantial amount of resources to this investigation."

Police spent 80 regular hours and about 40 hours in overtime trying to track down the "abductors" over the past week. The investigation cost taxpayers "thousands of dollars," Brown said.

The department also had authorities as far away as Tallahassee stopping anyone driving cars matching the description given by the alleged victim. Police also fielded complaints from some individuals who believed they were being harassed.

"All of this in the aftermath of a hoax," Williams said. "Her story has had a ripple effect throughout our entire community."

Mayor Thomas Masters enlisted the support of a local motorcycle club, which agreed to patrol the city's bus stops to help protect students. He also wanted school board officials to move some of the bus stops to areas with better lighting.

The teen's saga began when a relative dropped her off about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday at the bus stop in the 3400 block of Avenue H East. It was dark, and the student allegedly was standing alone when a "bubble-type" car pulled up, she told police.

She said the driver pointed a gun at her and ordered her into the car. She described the men as in their 20s and wearing stockings over their faces.

They drove her throughout the city, sexually assaulting her, the teen told police. She said she was pushed from the car in the 500 block of Avenue S.

A stranger found her in distress near the Stonybrook Apartments on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

After talking with police, Prince contacted parents in the area and encouraged them to send their students to the bus stop in pairs.

A woman who claimed she was sexually assaulted while employed at two Denver area businesses and may have authored almost 100 derogatory letters about herself sent to those employers has been arrested on suspicion of false reporting.

Lori Anne Koehler, 37, was taken into custody about 8:50 a.m. today after an extensive investigation by authorities in Broomfield and Aurora and by investigators for both Hobby Lobby and Family Dollar stores.

But in a four-page arrest warrant, investigators said they believe Koehler staged the robbery and sexual assault.

Further, they suspect that over a three-year period Koehler authored between 60 and 70 anonymous letters to employees of Family Dollar — where she was employed between March 2006 and July 2007 — and 30 anonymous letters to Hobby Lobby employees after she became store manager of Hobby Lobby's Broomfield store.

Attempts to reach Koehler today were unsuccessful.

Before she was terminated by Family Dollar stores in July 2007, she claimed that she had been raped by another Family Dollar employee. She said the alleged rapist warned her that he had "connections" and "could get rid of people" and would have her and her kids killed if she told anyone.

During an investigation by Family Dollar and the Aurora Police Department of the allegations, Koehler received a package which she told Family Dollar was offensive.

In the package were condoms, rope and lubricants, according to the arrest-warrant affidavit by Broomfield Detective Kurt Wederquist.

But Wederquist said a post office videotape showed Koehler mailing the package to herself.Koehler told police she sent the package to herself because "nothing was being done" about the 60 or 70 letters that had been sent to employees of Family Dollar stores.

The anonymous letters accused Koehler of "loose morals" and of having sexual relationships with Family Dollar employees.

A Family Dollar loss-prevention specialist told Broomfield Police that Koehler had no credibility and doubted that the alleged rape involving Koehler's male co-worker at Family Dollar ever took place.

Prior to Broomfield officers finding Koehler on the floor of the Hobby Lobby store tied by her left hand to a stock shelf, Hobby Lobby had been investigating more than 30 letters sent since January to Hobby Lobby corporate headquarters and Hobby Lobby stores across Colorado.

Wederquist said the overall theme of the letters focused "on the author's anger and concern" with Koehler being promoted to store manager at the Hobby Lobby in Broomfield.

"The letters contain derogatory language about Koehler and often accuse her of having sexual relationships with employees and having low morals," wrote Wederquist in the affidavit.

The letters to Hobby Lobby prompted an ongoing investigation by Broomfield Police and Hobby Lobby's Organized Retail Crime Division, in which store and district managers were interviewed.Broomfield police became suspicious of Koehler's rape story when they compared the empty condom wrappers and zip ties found next to the woman in the Hobby Lobby store with unopened condoms and a condom box and zip ties found in Koehler's Ford Expedition, which was parked outside the Broomfield store.

Wederquist said the unopened condoms and condom box in the Expedition had dates and lot numbers on the packaging that matched the date and lot number on both condom wrappers found on the floor next to Koehler inside the store. He said the zip ties found in the store were consistent with the zip ties found in the vehicle.

Wederquist said when he confronted Koehler with the information, she said: "(Expletive!) There is no way!"

Koehler told a St. Anthony Hospital North nurse who specializes in treatment of sexual-assault victims that she was confronted by an armed man who raped her.

Both Aurora and Broomfield police said that Koehler seemed hesitant to spell out the details of the assaults and during interviews would cover her face with her hands.

Monday, March 17, 2008

A 21-year-old woman who said she was sexually assaulted near Erwin Road March 6 has admitted that the report was false, Duke University Police Department officials said in a statement Tuesday.

A DUPD investigation found inconsistencies in the woman's account, which claimed that she had been assaulted by a black male around 7:30 p.m. March 6 after leaving Duke Hospital. The woman then admitted that she was not present at or near the University on that day, Aaron Graves, associate vice president for campus safety and security, said in a statement.

John Burness, senior vice president for government affairs and public relations, said Sunday that the University would likely file charges against the woman in the near future.

"Sexual assault is a very serious matter, and I hope this unfortunate incident will not deter anyone who is a victim of such a crime from reporting what happened and seeking assistance," he said.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

A local woman who reported early last week that she was the victim of a sexual assault was ar­rested three days later after she admitted that she had falsely ac­cused the man she said had at­tacked her.

Autauga County Sheriff's Of­fice investigators confirmed this week that Kara Dison, 19, was ar­rested and is charged with filing a false report with a law enforce­ment agency. Dison is unem­ployed and lives with her parents, near the Pine Level community, investigators said.

According to sheriff's reports, the woman told a deputy on Mar. 3, two days prior to her 19th birth­day, that a man who lived near her home had raped her. She provided the investigating deputy with a name and a physical description of her alleged assailant, and the man was taken into custody shortly thereafter.

"She told the deputy that she knew the suspect from her neigh­borhood," said ACSO Sgt. Casey Ott. "The deputy was able to de­tain the suspect very quickly, be­lieving he had enough probable cause to make an arrest. The per­son she identified was in custody within 30 minutes, charged with rape."

Dison reportedly traveled to a rape crisis center in Montgomery, where an on-call nurse was paged and a full rape examination was conducted. Before the results of the test were made known, the al­leged victim came to the sheriff's office and recanted her story.

The investigator said Dison's decision to continue the charade by subjecting herself to the test prompted the levying of criminal charges against her and the drop­ping of the rape charge against the suspect.

"Based on her statement, we had prepared a photo lineup and was going to interview her the next day," he said. "During our in­vestigation, some things came out that led us to believe she had been in a relationship with this gentle­man. She eventually advised us that she had, and that her story was fabricated. But she had will­ingly taken it to the next level, knowing her claims were untrue, and she was arrested."

The woman was taken into cus­tody less than 24 hours after she had celebrated her birthday.Chief Deputy Donnie Nelson said the sheriff's office would no longer tolerate such false crime re­ports that tie up personnel who could be better utilized elsewhere.

"We're not going to let this type of thing go anymore," Nelson said. "We don't have the personnel or the time for it. This cost us pre­cious time that we could have been working on something else. We don't have time to play games. It doesn't have to be a rape case, ei­ther. If we catch somebody in a lie, we're going to charge them. It's just that simple."

A woman has been fined for wasting police time after falsely claiming she had been raped - sparking a major inquiry.

The 29-year-old told officers she had been attacked by a stranger while walking down a dirt track at Ince late at night.But when she was quizzed by detectives, the 'victim' confessed she had made the whole thing up. She was ordered to pay an £80 fixed penalty notice.

Police taped off an area off Manley Street early on Tuesday after the woman called the force's non-emergency number. She said a man had forced her to the ground and raped her. She gave a description of her alleged assailant.

What saved the woman from facing more serious charges was the fact that the lie was established before the inquiry had got into full swing.

Had she named an attacker, leading to an arrest, and then admitted it was a false allegation, she could have faced the more serious charge of perverting the course of justice.

DURHAM - A woman who told Duke University Police she was sexually assaulted last week recanted her story Monday, school officials said. Now investigators are deciding whether to file criminal charges against her.

The 21-year-old woman, whose name the university did not disclose, said she left Duke Hospital just after 7:30 p.m. Thursday and was walking between the Civitan Building and the Child Guidance Clinic off Elba Street when she was grabbed, forced to the ground and assaulted.

Aaron Graves, Duke associate vice president for safety and security, wouldn't elaborate on the inconsistencies detectives found in her story. Graves said the woman conceded that she had not been raped but would not say whether she had been assaulted in any other way.

"I don't know why she did what she did," said Graves, who added that the woman is not a Duke student or employee.

There are several reasons why a rape victim would recant, said Andrea Maness, SAFE Center coordinator for Interact, a Raleigh-based organization for domestic violence and sexual assault victims.

"That doesn't mean that the rape or sexual assault did not occur," she said.

The victim might not want to deal with the criminal justice system or risk embarrassment to herself, friends and family, Maness said. Less than 6 percent of rape reports are false, she said, citing a State Bureau of Investigation statistic.

The News & Observer and other area media had reported that police were looking for a large, dark-skinned man who was either bald or had short hair with facial hair around his mouth.

Monday's admission is the most recent recanted story involving a college campus. An Appalachian State University senior faces possible criminal charges and school sanctions for making up a story last week about a masked gunman breaking into his apartment. The report led to the school being locked down.

Graves hopes Monday's withdrawal does not "deter anyone who is a victim of such a crime from reporting what happened and seeking assistance," he said in a written statement.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

The sex trial nightmare of a Cambridge graduate ended yesterday leaving a huge question mark over the decision to charge him.

Jack Gillett was accused of assault by a fellow student after a drunken night of passion.He has spent nine months under a cloud of suspicion and facing the threat of up to ten years in jail.

But after a three-day trial this week, a jury took just two and a half hours to throw out the £50,000 case.

Afterwards, Judge Gareth Hawkesworth questioned why it had ever been brought by the Crown Prosecution Service.

"It is a very sad thing that a case like this should come before the court involving two young people struggling to come to terms with the complexities of life and about to start on their careers," he said.

Later he added: "It's been a really tough ordeal. I'd like to leave it all behind and get on with my life."

But his family were less charitable. His father, an English teacher, dismissed the case as "a dangerous nonsense".

His mother, a respected artist, expressed "absolute disbelief" that it had gone to court.

His 22-year-old accuser, who remains legally protected by anonymity, had claimed he "continuously" ignored her pleas to stop as he pulled off her clothes in his room at Trinity College then pinned her to the ground where he groped her and simulated sex.

In his summing up, before the jury of eight women and four men retired to consider their verdict, Judge Hawkesworth said: "This is a story as old as time itself. Boy meets girl. Then the kissing starts.

The accuser: Legally protected anonymity

"There are two irreconcilable accounts and that is all you have to decide.

"Be cautious when taking into account discrepancies in motive. False accusations can be made in revenge. Sometimes they're made for no reason at all. People's fantasies can be boundless."

The jury had heard that Mr Gillett's accuser, the daughter of a well-known personality, had twice left the room on the night of the incident, but returned.

Two students in a nearby room testified that they had not heard her calling for help, even though their door and Mr Gillett's were left ajar throughout the alleged ordeal.

Another student revealed he had shared a bed with the slightly-built blonde on two occasions, weeks before the alleged sexual assault.

She later told a friend the man had sexually assaulted her but she never made a formal complaint - even when interviewed about her allegations involving Mr Gillett.

The court heard the woman went to Mr Gillett's room after bumping into him outside the Trinity College bar on the night of June 4 last year.

They began kissing but she said Mr Gillett, who admitted having several pints earlier that evening, became increasingly aggressive and pulled off her clothes.

"I was telling him to stop over and over again. He was pressing down on me quite hard, simulating the sex act," she said.

She claimed he had forced his hand into her pants when he "suddenly seemed to hear me" and agreed to stop.

Mr Gillett insisted it was only at this stage that she asked him to stop, which he said was "absolutely fine" and he did.

A friend of the accuser said last night that she had not wanted Mr Gillett convicted, but just wanted to "give him a scare so he wouldn't do it again".

Mr Gillett's mother Clare last night questioned the 32-year-old law that protects the anonymity of victims of sex attacks, even if the claims are found to be false or malicious.

"My son's reputation has suffered, while she remains anonymous," she said. "If she could have been named maybe she would have held back."

His father, Simon, said the case was a "dangerous nonsense which dragged Jack's name through the mud".

The CPS defended the decision to bring the prosecution.

A spokesman said: "We reviewed the evidence and decided the case should go to court. If the judge had felt the case shouldn't go to the jury then he could have acted at the end of the prosecution case."

A spokesman for Trinity College said that Mr Gillett would keep his position and supervisory role at Cambridge.

NEWCASTLE, England, March 8 (UPI) -- A woman in England convicted of falsely accusing five men of rape will not spend any time behind bars, a judge has decided.

Tracy Brooks, 26, a self-described alcoholic, made false allegations against two friends within a month last summer, the Daily Mail reported Saturday. The men were arrested and would have faced lengthy prison sentences if convicted. But last fall, she admitted she had lied and the charges against the men were withdrawn.

Despite it being revealed she previously had accused three other men of rape in separate incidents years earlier, Brooks ultimately was given a 32-week suspended prison sentence and a three-month night-time curfew, the newspaper reported.

"The effect of your false complaints was two men were subjected to a substantial degree of humiliation and a colossal amount of anxiety that they were being charged with an offense that could have resulted in a very lengthy sentence of imprisonment," Judge David Hodson told the woman.

After the sentence was handed down, Brooks apologized."I feel devastated and ashamed of what I have done," she said. "Giving up booze has given me clarity of mind and now I feel I am a better person."

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Abakan, Khakassia – A criminal case was opened on Article 306 "Knowingly false denunciation about a crime" against a girl who reported about allegedly being raped by a taxi driver.

The 24-year-old girl reported about the rape to Khakass Prosecutor's Office on February 5. She said that a taxi driver whom she had not known before raped her and stole $200 and a passport from her. IA pre-investigation checkup showed that the girl's denunciation was false.

The girl confessed she had resorted to false denunciation to justify her long absence at home to her parents. No criminal case was opened on rape.

A 17-year-old Palm Coast female who said she was raped near Linear Park last month has now retracted her story and has been charged with filing a false police report.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said she admitted she made up the story during questioning on Wednesday. She previously told detectives she was riding her bike to a park where she was attacked and raped. She now says her bruises were self-inflicted using an iPod as a tool. She was charged with a misdemeanor for filing the false report.

“This girl obviously needs professional help and we hope that is made available to her. The valid claims of sexual assault are not to be diminished by this teenager’s action. She has also done a disservice to this community as a whole,” said Flagler County Sheriff Donald W. Fleming in a statement.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Police spent hours this weekend searching for two men who hijacked a woman's car in her Etobicoke neighbourhood, sexually assaulted her and drove away, dumping her in front of her home.

The woman told police she was abducted at gunpoint, forced into a dark green van, driven to an unknown location and sexually assaulted.

Her car was found abandoned at Woodbine Raceway, but officers were unable to find any sign of the two suspects.

They soon concluded the unidentified woman made up the whole story.

Detective Candice Flis, of the Toronto police sex crimes unit, would not discuss the specifics of the case, but said that such false allegations are rare.

"When people make up things like this, generally there's something else going on in their lives -- some sort of crisis," she said. "They feel that the only way out of whatever pressure they're under is to make up these stories."

In January, the sex-crimes unit had to deal with another false sexual assault allegation, a York University student who claimed to have been attacked in the stairwell of a university residence. Student groups charged the university was not doing enough to protect students, but police soon determined the allegation was unfounded.

When such false stories do come up, Det. Flis said it is usually not too difficult for trained investigators to spot them. "When certain things don't add up, we start to ask questions," she said.

"The stories don't quite sound right: All the points just don't quite connect. So you just go into more and more detail: asking all the detailed questions. That's when the stories come apart."Police usually do not lay charges in such cases and do not identify the women who make up the stories.

Cheryl Regehr, a professor of social work at the University of Toronto, said that only makes sense, because such fabrications are almost always "a call for help in many cases."

While she said false rape charges are "exceedingly rare," they usually draw a disproportionate amount of publicity.

"They become highly sensationalized and highly publicized, because they're so rare," said Prof. Regehr. "And usually they're pretty lurid stories."

But the effect they can have on real victims of sexual assault can be chilling, she said. "Since the dawn of time there's been this urban myth about how women make up rapes," she said.

"Every time a case like this comes out, it feeds that and it really dissuades the real victims from disclosing."

She said sexual assault is the least reported major crime, because women -- who are almost always the victims -- are afraid that they will not be believed. Cases like this weekend's non-existent abduction and assault in Etobicoke only make those fears worse.

"They think that because this woman was found to be lying then everyone will think that they're lying," she said.

Det. Flis, whose unit deals with the most difficult sex-crime cases, agreed. "There's no doubt that for a victim to come forward in a sexual assault case is a difficult thing," she said.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Allen Wayne McFadden spent more than a year living under a cloud of suspicion.

"It's still hard for me to talk about, " the Rogers resident said. "You're talking about a whole year of my life, … feeling oppressed."

McFadden, 42, was arrested more that a year ago on suspicion of raping a teenage girl.Today, McFadden still maintains his innocence, and last month prosecutors dismissed the case against him.

The prosecution of McFadden ended Feb. 7 when prosecutors filed a motion to nolle prosequi the case. A nolle prosequi is a formal entry on the record by the prosecuting officer by which he or she declares the case will not be prosecuted further. Prosecutors have a year to refile the case.

"It was hell," McFadden said. "I couldn't count on having a future. Our lives were on hold."McFadden had to live with the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence. There were plea offers his attorney relayed to him. One was for 20 years, and another where he would have to serve at least a year in prison if he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge.

"It was a good plea, according to my attorney," McFadden said. "I told him to tell them to shove it. I'm innocent."

Deputy Prosecutor Mike Armstrong said the case was nolle prosequi because two witnesses came forward and provided statements that cast reasonable doubt over the case.

"Just because the case was nolle prosequi, it doesn't mean he's innocent," Armstrong said. "It doesn't prevent us from refiling the case at a later date."

McFadden was arrested Jan 27, 2007, at his home. He was handcuffed and was in the back seat of a squad car when he heard a Benton County Sheriff's Office deputy tell his wife he was being arrested for rape.

"I couldn't believe it," McFadden said. "I hadn't been able to believe any of this since day one."

Jeremy Felton, an investigator with the Benton County Sheriff's Office, questioned McFadden at the Sheriff's Office. During the interrogation, Felton told McFadden there was DNA evidence linking him to the crime.

McFadden was happy to hear DNA evidence existed because he believed it would clear him of any wrongdoing. He later learned the "DNA evidence"was a tactic Felton used in hopes of attaining a confession from McFadden.

McFadden said he became angry with Felton's questioning, so he requested an attorney.McFadden was held in jail for four months. His bond was set at $ 50, 000. He was finally released after it was lowered to $ 25, 000.

The once-accused McFadden said he always thought it was "innocent until proven guilty," but his treatment by some inmates and jailers convinced him otherwise.

McFadden said he had to live with daily threats from some inmates and jailers.

"One deputy would call me a sick pervert," McFadden said.

Another deputy once refused to give McFadden his meal tray.

Jail Capt. Hunter Petray said deputies are not allowed to harass or judge inmates. "We don't tolerate that from deputies, and if it happens, it's dealt with," Petray said.

He said the jail has a grievance procedure for inmates who have complaints concerning deputies and other inmates. Petray said he did not remember any grievances filed by McFadden.

Even while he was jailed, McFadden said, there was evidence that pointed to his innocence.

In an April 2007 letter from a Department of Health and Human Services employee, it is referenced that the girl claimed she lied about McFadden raping her because she was mad that he didn't give her a pack of cigarettes.

The letter claims the girl's statement was forwarded to the Prosecutor's Officer. The letter was not in the prosecutor's case file.

Around the same time, the girl also wrote a letter to her mother in which the girl again claimed the rape allegations against McFadden were lies.

His wife - Malinda McFadden - said the girl had made prior allegations against other people.

There were also two witnesses ready to testify they had heard they girl say she would make false sexual-abuse allegations against McFadden.

McFadden believes investigators and prosecutors should have done more before his arrest. They should have reviewed the girl's history and checked her counseling records, McFadden said.

"We used to have faith in the system," his wife said. "I don't have faith in the system anymore."McFadden is happy that his criminal case was dismissed. But another legal fight may be on the horizon.

His name was added to DHS's child-abuse registry.

McFadden said he's been told that it's almost impossible to have a name removed from the registry.

McFadden believes his life has forever been altered.

There are neighbors who used to wave at him. Now, they don't even look at him.

The rape allegations have also affected his two sons. They have heard derogatory statements from other children at school.

"It's also been a nightmare for them," McFadden said.

McFadden said he now wants peace and to move forward with his life. He and his family may have to move to another area to attain that peace.

"I used to read news stories about sexual abuse of children and believe it," McFadden said. "I look at it with different eyes now with my experience. I wonder now; are they innocent like me ?"

Saturday, March 1, 2008

TRAVERSE CITY -- Vindication came for Timothy Wagner, but it took more than three hard months to arrive. That's how long Wagner sat in the Grand Traverse County Jail awaiting trial on fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and home invasion charges. Last week, his attorney told him the charges were dropped and he was free. "I was happy as heck. It's not a fun place to be," Wagner, 43, said of jail. "Ninety-seven days for something I didn't even do."

But Wagner is in debt and without a job after his jail stint, he said, and he's concerned about his reputation following the charges. Sheriff's deputies arrested Wagner Nov. 16, court records show. A woman told investigators he entered her Garfield Township home without permission and grabbed her genitals. Wagner said the woman was a friend and her claims were false."I was ... surprised she would say something like that," he said. Records show Wagner's bond eventually was set at 10 percent of $100,000, and he said he couldn't afford it. So he sat in jail until shortly after prosecutors dismissed the charges Feb. 20. The dismissal of charges doesn't necessarily mean the woman lied, Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Alan Schneider said, but her credibility was too questionable to pursue charges.

"You have to have a certain level of reliable and credible evidence to go forward, and when (it's) neither reliable nor credible, then you can't proceed," he said. The woman told investigators she didn't call Wagner on the day of the alleged incident, Schneider said, but phone records later showed she called him multiple times. Those records weren't examined until relatively recently, Schneider said. Wagner's attorney, Philip Settles, did not return a call for comment. Wagner said he was supposed to start working at a restaurant around the time of his arrest, and he's now in debt and looking for work. He plans to "steer clear" of the woman and won't seek any civil damages from her. "I can't get nothing out of her. I'll just take a loss," he said. "I'll just find me a part-time job and get back on my feet."